


From the Sea

by RinChanSanMatsuoka



Series: Sourin week Sept 2015 [8]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Hurt/Comfort, Language Barrier, M/M, Merman Matsuoka Rin, Mild Blood, Mild Gore, Sousuke has no idea what he's getting into, Stitches, cop!Sousuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:43:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4855166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/pseuds/RinChanSanMatsuoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sourin week day 8<br/>Free day!</p><p>Officer Yamazaki's life changes one night when he rescues a merman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to use the free day for SR week to officially start my merman AU!
> 
> EDIT: There was some weird formatting issues. Whoops

The soft breeze blowing in from the ocean hit Sousuke’s sweat-slicked face and he shivered, picking up the pace of his jogging.  It was only early October but as soon as the sun started to set, the small port town of Iwatobi grew chilly.

Sousuke looked out at the ocean, watching the sun sink below the horizon.  Soon, it would start to get dark earlier and he wouldn’t be able to run along the beach after work.  Running through the town was fine but there was something about the sound of the surf that relaxed him.

Turning his gaze away from the water, Sousuke zipped his jacket up higher, fighting back another chill.  He was about to pick up speed again when he heard a strange sound.  It seemed like a mix between crying and cursing, though he didn’t recognize the language.

It was difficult to pinpoint where the sound was coming from due to the crash of the waves.  With a frown, Sousuke slowed his pace until he came to a stop.  If someone really was in trouble, and he did nothing, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.  Hadn’t he become a police officer to help people?

A few moments of silence had Sousuke wondering if he had imagined the entire thing until he heard the sob again.  It was coming from ahead of him, near the small jetty of rocks that sliced out into the ocean.  Without any hesitation, Sousuke ran over there, determined to help as best as he could.

Following the sound of crying, he picked his way through the rocks before finding the source.  Someone was leaning against one of the bigger rocks, crying softly and muttering things in that strange language. Carefully, Sousuke made his way over to them, hoping that they were alright.

“Hey, are you okay?  I’m a police officer.  I can help,” he said, keeping his voice calm, even if he felt his heart rate pick up at the smell of blood.

The person whipped around to look at him, damp red hair clinging to their face as eerie red eyes met his. 

Alright, this was definitely freaky.  Sousuke was pretty sure humans didn’t have slit pupils but he supposed it was a mutation.  That could happen… right?  Tearing his gaze away from the man’s eyes, Sousuke glanced at the rest of him, trying to find the source of the blood.

He spotted a large gash on the man’s tail and then had to do a double take.  Leaning against one of the rocks, Sousuke stared at man in front of him.  Well, the half-man.  His bottom half was a grey shark tail, with the tips of his fins tinted with red.  Thresher shark, he thought as he eyes trailed down the elongated tail fin.

A choked sob snapped Sousuke out of his daze and he looked back up at the man’s face.  He couldn’t just leave him here and throwing the merman, because that’s what this was – this man was a fucking _mershark_ , back into the ocean would probably only do more harm than good.

Noticing that the man was shivering, probably from a mix of the cold air and blood loss, Sousuke stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around the redhead.  It wasn’t much but it should help until he got the man home.

“I’m going to help you, okay?  Hold still.”   Sousuke kept his voice calm and his body language relaxed as he picked the merman up as carefully as he could.  He wrapped one arm under the man’s shoulders and another under his tail, taken aback by the rough texture of it.  It reminded him of the small sharks he’d been allowed to pet at the aquarium when he was a kid.

The man panicked a bit, shoving at Sousuke’s chest before wincing.  A strangled cry escaped his lips and he slumped against Sousuke as his hands weakly pressed against the gash on his tail.  The look of pain on his face was something all too familiar to Sousuke and a sudden, fierce wave of protectiveness swelled over him.

Stitching the wound and helping ease the pain would be Sousuke’s first course of action.  He carefully moved through the rocks and back onto the beach, trying to move as quickly as he could without injuring the merman further.  Forgoing the route to the hospital, he headed straight for his apartment.

The hospital would most likely do more harm than good and Sousuke didn’t want to turn this man into a scientific oddity.  He had a suture kit in his apartment and while he wasn’t the best at it, it would have to do.

Sousuke picked up his pace as the rough shark skin beneath his right hand started to dry out.  “Shit,” he mumbled, cursing himself for forgetting that sharks needed water to survive.  The man glanced up at him and the fear in his eyes made Sousuke’s heart hurt.  

“It’s nothing.  Don’t worry.  I’ll put you in the tub when we get home.”

The man simply continued to stare at him, though he relaxed slightly from the calm tone in Sousuke’s voice.  Still, Sousuke hurried, hoping that he wasn’t accidentally killing the merman by taking him away from the ocean.

They were about a block away from Sousuke’s apartment before the weight in his arms shifted dramatically and he almost lost his balance.  Panicking slightly, he looked down at the merman, who seemed entirely unperturbed by the shift.  His eyes were wide and curious as he wiggled his toes.

Wait, his _toes_?

Sousuke stood still, staring down at the man in his arms, who now had legs and was very, _very_ naked.  Biting back another curse so he wouldn’t startle him again, Sousuke just hurried to his apartment, trying his best to ignore the fact that the merman had suddenly sprouted legs.

* * *

Once safely inside the studio apartment, Sousuke leaned back against his door for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts.  He gave up trying to make sense of everything before heading to the bathroom.  While the tail may have vanished, the wound had not.  The large gash had been split in two, spread across the man’s thighs, but thankfully, seeing it on something human gave Sousuke a better estimate of the damage.

It didn’t appear too deep, so a simple single layer suture should be enough.  At least, he hoped it would be enough.  Sousuke may have learned this from his EMT friends but he hardly did it on a regular basis.

Gently, he set the man down so he could lean against the tub before grabbing his first aid supplies.  He hesitated, looking at the rubbing alcohol and needle.  How was he supposed to communicate that the only means to help him would hurt?

With a sigh, Sousuke sat down next to the man and stretched his legs out.  “I need to close the wound,” he said, gesturing to the suture needle.  “It’ll hurt but it needs to be done.  Do you understand?”

When the man just stared at him blankly, Sousuke silently cursed himself.  Of course he didn’t understand and Sousuke would probably just end up scaring him even more once he started cleaning the injury.

Pouring some of the alcohol onto a tissue, he looked the man in the eyes as he said, “This will sting.  But I have to clean it.”  He forced his voice to stay calm, hoping that if he acted like everything was going to be fine, the other man would somehow understand.

The man let out a yelp as Sousuke started to clean his legs, but he stayed still.  Whether it was because he understood that Sousuke needed to get rid of the sand or if it was out of fear, Sousuke wasn’t sure.  He just hoped it wasn’t the latter.

Throwing away the bloody tissues, Sousuke started prepping the needle.  He gave the man what he hoped was a reassuring smile before attempting to stitch his right leg.

The first stitch alone sent the man pitching back against the tub, trying to scramble away from Sousuke, his eyes growing wet with tears again.

Gritting his teeth, Sousuke moved the needle away quickly, not wanting to cause more damage as the man panicked.  He moved one hand to the man’s face, gently brushing the tears away.  He found himself gently pressing their foreheads together, making soft shushing sounds to calm the man down.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, foreheads pressed together and Sousuke’s thumb catching the man’s tears as they fell.  Eventually, the man calmed down enough to pull away from Sousuke and glance back at the needle.

“I’m going to try again.  I know it hurts but it’ll only hurt worse if I don’t fix it.”  Sousuke kept his voice soft as he held the man’s strange, red gaze.  When the man didn’t try to run again, Sousuke went back to the task of suturing the wound closed.

While the man didn’t run, he could hear him start to cry again and it broke Sousuke’s heart.  He tried to finish as quickly as he could without making any mistakes.  Once the right leg was finished, he paused to wipe the man’s tears and reassure him again.

Sousuke waited until the man gestured to the needle again before moving onto his left leg.  It went a bit easier this time, even if man’s tears didn’t stop.  After he finished, Sousuke cleaned off the remaining blood before wrapping the wound in bandages.

As he put his first aid supplies away, he couldn’t help stealing glances at the man.  He was so strange, with his deep red hair and otherworldly eyes but the fear and pain Sousuke had seen on his face had been just as human as the people he helped.

After washing his hands, Sousuke went back to the man and gently picked him up again.  He met no resistance, like he had back on the beach, and he smiled a bit at that.  Hopefully this meant the merman felt safe with him.

Being careful of the bandages, Sousuke brought the man over to his bed and tried to lay him down.  The man shifted onto his side, moving his legs a bit until he seemed to find a position that was comfortable. 

While he had been shifting, Sousuke’s jacket had slipped to the side and he noticed slits along the man’s ribs. 

Gills.  The merman had gills.  They lay flat and tight against the merman’s skin and Sousuke moved his gaze to his face, watching as he breathed like a human.  He supposed it was similar to the legs and he realized how little he knew about this man in his bed.

But when the redhead glanced up at him, a small smile on his face, Sousuke found that he didn’t care.


End file.
